Jason Mraz Is Growing Coffee Now

Jason Mraz, a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter known for his hit “The Remedy,” expects to produce his first significant coffee crop in about two years. “I started my career in a coffee house, and I love the coffee culture,” Mr. Mraz said. “I knew right away that California coffee could be special.” So two years ago, he and his farm crew planted some 2,500 coffee bushes among the avocado groves on the 1,700 acres he farms near San Diego. Each plant’s roots had to be caged to protect them from gophers. The bushes were caged above ground, too, and then wrapped to insulate and protect their leaves — just planting them took three months. Today, Mr. Mraz said, the bushes are waist high and producing a few coffee berries. Only a handful were lost, mostly to gophers, coyotes and wind. He gets a variety of reactions when he tells people about his coffee venture, he said. “In th...